Glow lamp combination



Oct. 10,` 1950 w. D. STAHL Erm.

GLOW LAMP COMBINATION Filed Ilarch 13, 1946 QV oak... 4

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Patented Oct. 10, 1950 GLOW LAMP COMBINATION Y William D. Stahl, Kenilworth, and Fred V. Collins, Des Plaines, IIL, signora to William F. Stahl,

Kenilworth, Ill.

Application March 13, 1946, Serial No. 654,174

1 Claim. 1

'I'hls invention relates to a glow lamp comblnation and more particularly to a glow lamp having an element therein cut to a given resonant frequency and provided with electronemitting material in combination with a microwave generator tuned to the resonant frequency of the glow lamp element. The combination is useful in connection with the decoration and illumination `of Christmas trees, and other selected structures.

An object of the invention is to provide a cornbination in which a glow lamp supported upon a Christmas tree or upon some other selected support may be caused to glow through the use of a generator supported at a distance therefrom. A further object is to provide means for illuminating or decorating a structure without the use of wires or current-carrying members and through the use of resonant frequencies. Other specific objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds. l

The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, by the accompanying drawing, in which- Flgure 1 is a broken side view in elevation of a Christmas tree equipped with structures embodying our invention; Fig. 2, a vertical sectional vlew of the glow lamp of the character shown attached to the Christmas tree in Fig. l; Fig. 3, a vertical sectional view of a modied form of glow lamp; Fig. 4, a vertical sectional view of a modified form of glow lamp equipped with an electric resistance element; and, Fig. 5, another modified form of glow lamp embodying our invention.

In the illustration given, I designates a Christmas tree and II designates the glow lamp attached thereto. I2 designates a micro-wave generator supported below the Christmas tree on the floor.

The glow lamp I0 may be of arrv suitable construction. In the illustration given, glow lamp II comprises a glass envelop of the L-shape illustrated (or any convenient shape) and is equipped with a glass portion I3 supporting a wire element I4 of the shape illustrated. Any suitable gas, such as argon, may be employed in the envelop. The element I4 is cut to a given resonant frequency and is coated with electronemitting substance I5, such as tellurium oxide. etc. The coated element will thus emit electrons under the influence of or ln an electrostatic or electromagnetic field of micro-wave resonant frequency, and an ionic bombardment takes place causing the gas to fluoresce, thus giving off visible light. The inside of the envelop may be coated with a phosphoresoent material IIa, such as standard phosphors, and this gives a phosphorescent light under the influence of the ionized gas.

In order to support the lamp upon a Christmas tree or other support, we equip the horizontal leg I8 of the glass envelop with a band II of metal or other suitable material, for securing the clamp member I8 thereon. With this structure, the leg member IB in effect forms the upper handle of the clamp Il and permits ready attachment of the lamp to any selected portions on the Christmas tree or other support.

In the illustration given in Fig. 3, a modified form of the glow lamp is shown. Here the glass envelop I9 is T-shaped and a pair of wire elements 2li are supported therein by means of the integral glass members 2 I. 'I'he elements are constructed the same as element I4 and are coated in the same manner. To enhance the lighting effect, the vertical elements 2li may be equipped with glass sleeves 22.

Each of the lamps may be partially evacuated for providing low pressure for easy ionization and the lamps may be filled with neon, argon, krypton and other suitable rare gases. Either of the horizontal legs of the glow lamp I9 may be equipped with an attachment clamp of the type illustrated in Fig. 2.

In combination with the glow tubes and at a spaced distance therefrom, we provide a microwave generator of well-known construction. The micro-wave generator may be of the usual type which may be tuned to produce different microwave frequencies or, if desired, the generator may be of the non-variable type which produces only a givenmicro-wave frequency which is c-f the same resonant frequency as the elements Il or 20 in the glow lamps.

In the construction as illustrated. kwe have found that a generator producing micro-waves of 200 megacycles is fairly -satisfactory for the illumination of the lamps I i on the Christmas tree. megacycles did not have the field strength at distances from the glow lamp II as did the higher frequencies. In other words, we nd that the higher the frequency the greater the actual transference of power conveyed by the electromagnetic and electrostatic waves of micro-wave length.

In the operation of the combined structures, the glow lamps II and I 0 are placed in any desired arrangement upon a Christmas tree or other selected device and in this operation the clamp I8 or any other suitable member is eectiveinthereadysecurlngofthemembersin 3 their desired positions upon the support. The micro-wave generator is located at any suitable point, say, upon the iloor under the tree or device, or upon an adjacent table, etc. If the Y generator is already tuned or constructed so as to produce only the resonant frequency of the elements of the glow lamps, then immediately upon the turning on of the generator, the glow lamps begin to emit or iluoresce with light and an eifective lighting effect is produced. The combination obviates all wiring requirements and leaves the Christmas tree or other supporting device entirely unencumbered with wires, etc.

By employing a micro-wave generator which is tunable, we may employ several series of glow lamps in which each series has an element tuned to a diierent frequency. Thus, by controlling the generator, the different series of glow lamps may be brought successively into play and if the glass envelops of the different series have different colors, diilerent lighting e'ects will be thus produced through the control of the generator.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 4, the resonant elements 23 are connected at their top by a coil of resistance wire 24. A current is set up within the elements 23 under the influence of the micro-wave frequency and the current in passing through the electric resistance element 24 causes the element 24 to become incandescent and thus to give visible light. The structure shown in Fig. 4 will function when evacuated or when filled with inert gas.

In the structure shown in Fig. 5, the envelop 25 is in itself formed to a definite resonant frequency and will, as a Whole, act as a resonator under the influence of micro-wave oscillation. The envelop is lled with fluorescent type gas such as argon, neon, krypton, etc. Under the influence of the micro-wave oscillation or frequency, the gas ionizes, causing fluorescence to take place and visible light to be produced.

While we have shown slow lamps in which open circuit resonators are provided. it will be understood that the circuits of said resonators may be of the closed or hairpin type.

While in the foregoing specification, we have set forth certain details as illustrative of certain embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that such details may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

A glow lamp adapted for support upon the branch of a Christmas tree, comprising a translucent, evacuated envelope formed of electric insulating material and having therewithin at low pressure a gas operative to ionize and glow in the presence of a high-frequency electric field, electrically conducting means wholly within the envelope, said electrically conducting means being coated with electron-emitting material, phosphorescent material deposited as a thin coating on the inner surface of the envelope, and a clamp member mechanically secured to the outside of the envelope.

WILLIAM D. STAHL. FRED V. COLLmS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,117,544 Coustal May 17, 1938 2,121,460 Waters June 21, 1938 2,142,633 Dey et al Jan. 3, 1939 2,166,036 Bertoyl July 11, 1939 2,268,870 Greenlee Jan. 6, 1942 2,285,796 Beardow June 9, 1942 

